Chamber survey – H20 Utilities

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Facilities management company H20 Utilities needed to survey a large chamber which was part of a foul water pumping system at Bedfont Primary School, in Feltham, West London.

There was evidence that ground water was getting into the pumping system. The conventional survey method would have been to carry out a confined space entry. This would have needed a large team to counter health and safety risks, making the survey costly and potentially problematic to schedule.

The Solution

UKDN Waterflow (LG) Ltd advised H20 Utilities that there was a safer, faster, and potentially less costly survey solution. This was to use the innovative Panoramo SI chamber inspection system. It has been pioneered in the UK by UKDN Waterflow (LG)’s parent company, Lanes Group plc.

“The Panoramo SI camera is an impressive piece of kit. It avoids the need for personnel to enter a chamber, a task that always carries risk. As such, the Panoramo has significant safety benefits. Technology like this has to be the way forward, in that it allows us to complete these tasks quickly and efficiently without a confined space entry.”

Richard Scott, Director, H2O Utilities

The Implementation

The chamber that needed to be surveyed was 2.5m wide and 4.5m deep, and part of a two-chamber wet well system that pumps waste water from the school into the main sewer system.

A conventional confined space entry places personnel at risk from falls and potentially deadly gases that can build up in sewers and chambers. These include hydrogen sulphide and carbon monoxide.

For these reasons, carrying out a confined space entry survey of the chamber would have required up to five personnel, including a two-person rescue team.

Also, if levels of sewer gases had been high, the survey could have been delayed, adding to the cost and inconvenience for the school.

Panoramo SI

The IBAK Panoramo SI survey camera overcomes these problems. It has a 3D optoscanner, which has two high-resolution digital cameras. These capture high definition 360º images of the inside of a structure.

The Panoramo SI camera was lowered into the chamber from a winch on the back of a specially kitted out van. The camera records footage at a rate of one metre every three seconds, so the survey was completed in less than one minute.

Data was also gathered during the survey that the client could use to create a highly-accurate point cloud image, for additional structural analysis.

The Results

The remote access survey was successfully completed

A conventional confined space entry places personnel at risk from falls and potentially deadly gases that can build up in sewers and chambers. These include hydrogen ulphide and carbon monoxide.

Access was needed for less than half a day

The speed and low impact of the Panoramo SI system meant the survey could be carried out in term-time: there was no need to wait to carry out the survey during a school holiday

H20 Utilities received enhanced survey data to support more effective maintenance plans.